The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV Series) The My Friend the Gorilla Affair (1966) User Reviews

A covert cross-promotion for NBC's Tarzan?

[jivers01 · 1/10 · 25 June 2014]

Fans and critics seem to agree that this is the worst, most despised episode of the popular spy show from its campy third season. (Although the one with Sonny and Cher comes in a close second.) Appears to be an inside joke as NBC had just created the Ron Ely "Tarzan" series three months earlier. Most likely the network saw this as a back-handed way to promote "Tarzan". (Plus save money reusing the jungle and village sets.) Otherwise, there's no logical reason for awkwardly forcing the beloved U.N.C.L.E. agents into such a contrived and idiotic story.

The only bright spot is statuesque Vitina Marcus as "Girl", a leopard-skin wearing female Tarzan who doesn't speak English. Girl was raised in the jungle by a gorilla and can do a Weissmuller-type yell. Robert Vaughn's dopey attempts to communicate with her via pantomime and dancing the Watusi (with her and the gorilla) are excruciating to watch. Sloppy, cliché-filled story concerns mad scientist trying to create an army of super-warriors using drugs. This has an amusingly inept match-cut of an elephant stampede with the cast running away from an obvious stock footage insert.

The same month this came out, "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.", also aired a silly African safari yarn, "The Jewels of Topango Affair". NBC was either pushing hard to promote Tarzan via two African-based adventure stories or just cutting costs by producing two matching episodes back-to-back.

A New Low!

[gordonl56 · 2/10 · 9 February 2015]

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. – The My Friend the Gorilla Affair - 1966

This is the 73rd episode of 1964 to 1968 spy series, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. The series ran for a total of 105 episodes. The first season was filmed in black and with the remainder shot in colour. Robert Vaughn plays agent Napoleon Solo while David McCallum plays Illya Kuryakin. Leo G Carroll plays Mister Waverly, the boss of the secret agency known as U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law & Enforcement) UNCLE's main enemy is THRUSH, an organization out to take over the planet.

Just when the viewer thinks the series could not sink any lower, they spring this episode on us.

This is really, really bad, with most everyone agreeing that it is hands down the worst episode of the series. The story, what there is of it, features, a mad scientist, a trader selling plastic Ivory, a jungle girl and various other story threads.

I cannot say more about this mess than to agree with the other IMDb reviewers. They have explained it better than I could.

U.N.C.L.E. bungles in the jungle

[ShadeGrenade · 1/10 · 12 July 2009]

There is a story, possibly apocryphal, that during the making of the '80's sitcom 'Bottle Boys', actor Robin Askwith hated one script so much he shut himself away in a broom cupboard and refused to come out until it was rewritten. After viewing this 'M.F.U' farrago, you have to wonder why Robert Vaughn did not follow suit.

It begins with Kuryakin investigating an unknown menace in Africa. He is taken prisoner by natives endowed with superhuman strength and agility. Solo is sent after him. His jeep breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and a native goes to shoot him with a blow pipe. He is saved from certain death by the intervention of a beautiful woman known only as 'Girl' ( Vitina Marcus ) who has been raised by apes, and lives in a tree house with a pet gorilla called 'Baby' ( Shall I stop now? Writing this is like reliving a nightmare ). Like many Season 3 stories, it sets out to be funny but fails dismally. 'Baby' looks about as convincing as the monkey who chased Laurel and Hardy at the end of 'Swiss Miss'.

In what must be the nadir of Vaughn's career, Solo tries to communicate with 'Girl' using mime. He switches on a transistor radio at one point. "Watusi!", she shrieks. The next thing you know, she and Solo are dancing, and as if that was not bad enough, Baby joins in.

To cut the story short ( though not short enough for my liking ) mad Professor Kenton ( Arthur Malet ) has developed a serum for increasing strength and agility and wishes to build a private army to...do whatever it is private armies usually do. In common with a lot of Season 3's villains, Kenton fails to exude any menace whatever. He looks like Wilfrid Brambell's 'Steptoe' whilst simultaneously sounding like Professor Richard Dawkins.

There's barely any action to speak of. Girl, not our heroes, saves the day by causing an elephant stampede. Africa is represented by stock nature documentary footage, so much is on view that this must have looked like a repeat even on the first screening. It is as though the men from U.N.C.L.E. have accidentally wandered into 'Carry On Up The Jungle'.

The credits blame one Joseph Sandy for the story. Mr.Sandy does not appear to have written anything else in his life, and that should tell you something.

I agree with U.N.C.L.E. buff William Koenig when he said of this: "not only the worst episode of the entire series, this putrid mess has to rank as one of the worst programs in the history of television.". Not even could Tarzan have saved this.

Good campy fun

[dtucker86 · 10/10 · 2 September 2023]

The Man From UNCLE was really meant as a tongue in cheek spoof of the James Bond films. This episode has been singled out as particularly bad but its really campy fun just like a Batman episode. Turn on the tv, turn your brain off and just have a good laugh at the adventures of Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin. Its an almost Doctor Livingston situation when Solo is sent to an African country to search for Ilya after he has been kidnapped by a mad scientist trying to create an Army of super men. It really gets good when Solo is knocked out and taken prisoner by a wild woman known only as girl and her pet gorilla Baby what a brilliant concept! Why Rod Serling himself couldn't have come up with a better plot then this! Oh and the scene where Solo communicates with Girl by dancing the watusi with her and the gorilla joins in! Why it reminded me of the well scene in The Miracle Worker! Why this is such a classic.